Central Electric Power Cooperative

Central Electric Power Cooperative is a Generation and Transmission Cooperative who provides total wholesale electric service to all 20 of South Carolina’s distribution electric cooperatives. The distribution cooperatives serve over 730,000 residential, commercial, and industrial consumers located in all forty-six counties and representing one third of the people of South Carolina.Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (Central) was incorporated and organized in 1948, with headquarters located in Columbia, South Carolina. Central provides total wholesale electric service to all of South Carolina's 20 retail electric cooperatives serving over 700,000 accounts.Central has no direct generation ownership; the cooperative designs and builds transmission lines between the bulk transmission system and member delivery points. The map below shows the location of our member delivery points, the generation assets serving our members, and the transmission system.The bulk of Central's transmission was designed to serve the coordinated and integrated Central / South Carolina Public Service Authority (SCPSA) system. The transmission grid consists of over 2,000 miles of 115kV and 230kV lines constructed by Central and leased to SCPSA. Central owns an additional 394 miles of 115 kV line and 278 miles of 69kV line.Central purchases the majority of its power from Duke Energy Carolinas and the South Carolina Public Service Authority through a long term contract. The remaining power supply needs are met with power purchased from the Southeastern Power Administration and from South Carolina Electric and Gas Company.The member cooperatives of Central constitute the only truly statewide electric system in South Carolina. Our members serve customers in all forty-six counties through a distribution network totaling more than 70,000 miles of distribution line. Below is a map detailing the service territories of the 20 distribution cooperatives.

Mission Statement

• Central exists solely for the benefit of its members.Diagram that shows Central's departments and their responsibilities.
• We will provide a reliable, long-term, and stable supply of power, which accommodates growth, at the lowest possible cost
• consistent with good utility practice.
• We will provide for reliable delivery of power when and where desired, consistent with applicable guidelines.
• We will provide additional energy-related or delivery-related services, as directed by Central's Board of Trustees

Central adheres to the 'Seven Cooperative Principles' adopted by the NRECA in order to accomplish our core missions.We are committed to the highest standards of ethics and professionalism and the concept that teamwork is vital to our success.The team approach must exist within Central, as well as between Central and its members.Central develops load forecasts and analyzes cost of service, generation planning, risk management, and fuel procurement. This allows Strategic Services to coordinate long-term contracts with Santee Cooper, Duke Energy Carolinas, and Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA). These contracts secure power supply for up to forty years and is the main contributing factor for the low cost power we provide to local distribution cooperatives.Central monitors weather and analyzes loads to reduce costs during peak demand periods through a combination of voltage reduction, switches on water heaters and air conditioners, as well as notifying interruptible loads.Central’s rate to members, are created to equitably bill members and to provide a link to cost causation.